Skyworld, a New York-based cannabis brand rooted in Indigenous tradition, has announced a partnership with the Last Prisoner Project (LPP), a nonprofit focused on freeing people incarcerated due to the War on Drugs and supporting them as they rebuild their lives. The collaboration, originally announced on January 6, 2026, is positioned as a public-facing campaign designed to raise awareness, mobilize support across the legal cannabis supply chain, and generate direct resources for Drug War survivors and their families.
The partnership operates under LPP’s Partners for Freedom program, which connects cannabis businesses with LPP’s work across legal intervention, advocacy, and reentry support. Skyworld is also inviting New York dispensaries to participate in LPP’s Roll It Up for Justice program, an initiative that enables retailers to offer customers an option to donate at checkout in support of LPP’s mission.
Skyworld’s announcement arrives at a moment when New York’s adult-use market continues to expand, while national conversations about cannabis justice remain unresolved. LPP has repeatedly emphasized that the shift toward legalization has not eliminated the harm created by decades of criminalization, especially for individuals and families still impacted by older enforcement regimes and sentencing practices. Skyworld’s stated objective is to make LPP’s mission more visible through a product-driven campaign that routes consumer attention and retailer participation toward direct support.
A Campaign Built Around a Flagship Cultivar
As part of the partnership, Skyworld is spotlighting a specific flower offering: White Apple Runtz, abbreviated as “WAR.” The cultivar is described by the brand as a hybrid indoor strain with a sensory profile built around crisp apple candy, creamy sweetness, and light tropical citrus. Skyworld lists a terpene profile totaling 3.5%. The brand frames the cultivar as a premium expression of its cultivation philosophy, emphasizing intention, compassion, and respect for the plant.
Positioning a justice partnership around a strain release is a familiar format in cannabis marketing, but Skyworld’s approach is designed to keep the campaign’s theme explicit rather than symbolic. The “WAR” shorthand functions as more than a strain nickname, acting as a direct reference to the War on Drugs and the people still living with its consequences. Skyworld has also directed consumers to locate the product through its online store locator at skyworldcannabis.com.
In its release, Skyworld ties the cultivar back to the partnership’s stated purpose: pairing a standout flower experience with visible support for LPP. The brand’s messaging frames the product choice as a way to channel attention to LPP’s broader work, rather than presenting the collaboration as a one-off charity gesture.
Retail Participation Through Roll It Up for Justice
A central component of the partnership is Skyworld’s invitation to dispensaries to join LPP’s Roll It Up for Justice program. The program gives retailers a turnkey mechanism to integrate LPP support into regular transactions by offering customers an option to donate at checkout. That structure matters for a campaign built in a regulated market where customer engagement opportunities can be limited by platform rules, advertising restrictions, and the fragmented nature of state-by-state operations.
For retailers, Roll It Up for Justice is designed as an opt-in initiative that does not require a full marketing rebuild or a dedicated product line. It uses a familiar retail model, microdonations at the point of sale, but directs the proceeds to an organization focused on criminal justice reform rather than a generic community fund. In practice, this creates a pathway for dispensaries to participate regardless of brand mix, while also amplifying LPP’s visibility in the same environment where legalization’s economic upside is most apparent.
Skyworld’s release emphasizes mobilization across the cannabis community, with dispensary involvement positioned as the most direct way to scale donations beyond a single brand’s audience. The success of that approach depends on retailer adoption and staff level execution, but the mechanics are straightforward: a checkout prompt, a donation option, and a clear explanation of where the money goes.
Packaging as Historical Confrontation
To mark the gravity of the collaboration, Skyworld partnered with Case Study Labs on a special label for White Apple Runtz. The label uses archival imagery and visual references tied to the escalation and institutionalization of the War on Drugs. Skyworld’s release cites figures and cultural moments closely associated with prohibition era policy and messaging, including Richard Nixon, Harry Anslinger, and Ronald and Nancy Reagan, alongside early drug enforcement scenes.
The design is described as layered, using symbolism and direct references to the “Just Say No” era to evoke the emotional weight of that period and point toward the policy decisions that helped drive criminalization and mass incarceration. Rather than leaning into the nostalgia-driven visual language that has long circulated in cannabis branding, Skyworld intends to push the history into the foreground, using packaging as a reminder of the political architecture that shaped enforcement.
Within the campaign framing, the label is positioned as a companion to the partnership itself: the packaging functions as a memory device, and the collaboration functions as a mechanism for tangible support. Skyworld’s release describes the design and partnership as working in tandem, one to remember the past and the other to help change the present.
Insight from Skyworld and Last Prisoner Project
Skyworld co-founder and CEO Alex Anderson framed the partnership as an extension of the brand’s identity and values, connecting legalization to responsibility and repair. “We’re honored to stand alongside Last Prisoner Project and help shine a light on the people still behind bars for cannabis,” Anderson said. “At Skyworld, we believe cannabis cannot be called legal or just until we address the harm of prohibition and fight for those still incarcerated. This partnership is our commitment to pairing premium cannabis with purpose—supporting freedom, healing, and justice for the people and families most impacted.”
Stephanie Shepard, acting executive director of the Last Prisoner Project, described Skyworld’s involvement as a model for how companies can support criminal justice work in a meaningful way. “We’re thrilled to partner with Skyworld, whose leadership shows what it looks like when the cannabis industry gives back in a meaningful way,” Shepard said. “Skyworld understands that true progress includes repairing the harm of prohibition, and their support helps bring us closer to freedom and justice for those still impacted by outdated cannabis laws.”
The quotes reflect the partnership’s central theme: legalization without release is an incomplete victory. For LPP, the underlying argument remains consistent as more states open adult-use markets: cannabis laws have shifted, but criminal records and prison sentences have not automatically shifted with them. The organization has focused on legal intervention and policy reform intended to address that gap, while also providing direct support for individuals coming home after long incarceration.
About Last Prisoner Project and Skyworld
The Last Prisoner Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cannabis criminal justice reform. Its work focuses on freeing people incarcerated for cannabis offenses, reuniting families, and helping individuals rebuild their lives through legal intervention, constituent support, direct advocacy, and policy reform. LPP also maintains public education campaigns and partnerships with cannabis brands and retailers through programs such as Partners for Freedom and Roll It Up for Justice. The organization’s public outreach includes a text-to-action line: “FREEDOM” to 24365.
Skyworld describes itself as a New York-based cannabis brand rooted in Indigenous tradition, drawing its name and inspiration from Skyworld, a place of origin and unity in Native creation stories. The brand is guided by ancestral wisdom and a commitment to ethical stewardship, and it emphasizes premium flower cultivation built around intention, compassion, and respect for plant and people. In its positioning, Skyworld frames itself as more than a consumer brand, emphasizing cultural roots and community orientation as part of its public identity.
The collaboration with Last Prisoner Project formalizes that positioning into a concrete partnership, with a defined nonprofit beneficiary, a retailer participation pathway, and a product and packaging centerpiece designed to keep the drug war’s history in the frame.
